Emel Öget Gazimihal (1912–1998) was the first female radio presenter in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Biography

Emel Öget was born in 1912. Her father's name was Fevzi Öget. She married Tahsin Gazimihal. In 1937, she was serving for the Turkish PTT in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In the 1930s,

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: ) is the national public broadcasting, public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio broadcaster in Turkey. Before the introductio ...

(TRT) was not yet established, and the radio broadcasting was under the responsibility of the Turkish PTT. After an audition, she was recruited as the news speaker of Ankara Radio. She went to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and immediately began working without any preliminary training. She recalls that in the early days of the radio, there was no standard acoustic treatment in the studio and the walls were covered by carpets.TRT page Interview with Emel Gazimihal
/ref> On 1 October 1937, she was sent by the government to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England to take training at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

(British Broadcasting Corporation) for six months. She returned to Turkey to continue as the only permanent female speaker. She served in Ankara Radio as a news speaker and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Turkish people Turks (), or Turkish people, are the largest Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group, comprising the majority of the population of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. They generally speak the various Turkish dialects. In addition, centuries-old Turkish co ...

learned the course of the war by her voice. In 1951, she returned to Istanbul, and served about ten years in Istanbul Radio. She retired in 1962.TRT page Emel Gazimihal with Halit Kıvanç
/ref> Emel Gazimihal died in 1998, and was buried at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazimihal, Emel 1912 births 1998 deaths Turkish women civil servants Turkish civil servants Turkish radio presenters Turkish Radio and Television Corporation people BBC people Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Turkish women radio presenters